Raja Narain Singh (also called Raja Narayan Singh) was the Rajput [1] zamindar of Seris and Kutumba in modern-day Aurangabad district of Bihar (then a part of Gaya district) in India. [2] He was active during the late 18th century and was notable for rebelling against the British East India Company. [3]
Narain Singh had a tradition of rebelling from 1770 onwards and decided to join the revolt of Chait Singh of Varanasi in 1781. [3] He was one among many rebels in Bihar who rose against the East India Company during that same period.
He had been remiss in providing his revenue payments to the EIC and was therefore deposed and lost his lands. In response he had gathered a force of 1500 matchlockmen and joined with allies of Chait Singh including Bachu Singh and together they amassed a force of 15,000. [4] He posted his men at the foot of the Argoor pass with the intention of intercepting the incoming British force. The British leader, Crawfurd found out about this and changed his route. He ended up virtually encircling Narain Singh's forces. Caught in a hopeless position, he somehow managed to escape to Patna where he surrendered before the revenue chief in March 1782. [4] He was subsequently jailed in Patna until 1786. He was restored to his "forfeited" zamindari in 1790 after his release. [3] He had assisted other zamindars with resources and was in secret correspondence with others in an attempt to stir up anti-British sentiment before his arrest.
Some regard him as one of the first "freedom fighters" in India against British rule. [5]
Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak, was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, for whose overthrow he had called for a "total revolution". His biography, Jayaprakash, was written by his nationalist friend and the writer of Hindi literature, Rambriksh Benipuri. In 1999, he was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social service. Other awards include the Magsaysay award for Public Service in 1965.
Krishna Ballabh Sahay ,fondly known as K B Sahay was an Indian freedom fighter, who after Indian Independence became the Revenue Minister of Bihar and then became the fourth Chief Minister of unified Bihar.
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Anugrah Narayan Sinha, known as Bihar Vibhuti, was an Indian nationalist statesman, participant in Champaran Satyagraha, Gandhian & one of the architects of modern Bihar, who was the first Deputy Chief Minister and the Finance Minister of the Indian state of Bihar (1946–1957). He was also a Member of the Constituent Assembly of India, which was elected to write the Constitution of India and served in its first Parliament as an independent nation. He also held a range of portfolios including Labour, Local Self Government, Public Works, Supply & Price Control, Health and Agriculture. A.N. Sinha, affectionately called Anugrah Babu, was a very close associate of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle movement and worked with Bihar Kesari Sri Krishna Sinha to lead the Gandhian movement in Bihar. One of the leading nationalists in the Indian independence movement from Bihar after Dr Rajendra Prasad, he was elected as the Congress Party deputy leader in the state assembly to assume office as first Deputy Chief Minister cum Finance Minister of independent Bihar, and re-elected when the Congress Party won Bihar's first general election with a massive mandate in 1952.
Ramavriksha Benipuri was a freedom fighter, Socialist Leader editor and Hindi writer. He was born in a small village named Benipur in Muzaffarpur district in a Bhumihar family in the Indian state of Bihar. He had spent nine years in prison for fighting for India's independence. He was the founder of Bihar Socialist Party in 1931 and Congress Socialist Party in 1934. He served as the president of Patna District Congress Committee of Indian National Congress from 1935 to 1937 during the 1937 Indian provincial elections. He was elected as the Member of the Legislative Assembly (India) from Katra North in 1957. In 1958, he was elected as the Syndicate Member of Bihar University, Muzaffarpur.
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